The Final Trial
by Sol Sabre
Summary: Alex and Myra beach their ship on a small island in the northern sea for a quick rest and some supplies...oddly enough another companion awaits them there. A holy warrior with the power to heal all wounds, old and new... ON HOLD
1. Prolouge

_Golden Sun is the property of Camelot and Nintendo._

Alex felt the ground crumbling beneath him. The water Adept let out a sigh of despair as the mountain beneath him started to descend into Weyard.

"If I was stronger I might have been able to escape this fate." He muttered.

He had been on top of Mount Alph when the Mars Lighthouse was lit… he knew so much more than all the others. Not even Saturos and Menardi had suspected his plans, and only moments ago Felix and his friends had lit the Mars Lighthouse. He had promised himself that if he ever met the wandering party again that he would not kill them…at least not immediately but now his plans had failed. The wretched rock known as the Wise One had infused a fraction of Alchemy's energy into the Mars Star and given it Isaac…of all the people to choose from why him?

Alex shook his head in mock sadness "He should have given it to Felix, not that troublesome child."

However he had to admit that the Wise One's simple but effective plan had robbed him of his dream. Though he had absorbed much of Alchemy's energy the loss of that small amount had prevented Alex from taking the limitless power that he desired. Now he lay atop Mount Alph awaiting his death as the mountain slowly sank into the ground. With his energy exhausted he could only rest his head on the cool granite and wait for the inevitable.

"At least I can enjoy the view," he thought as he opened his eyes to look at the sky that was growing smaller with every passing second.

He watched as the blue sky disappeared replaced with a few broken strands of sunlight. Finally only a small ray of light pierced the darkness…and then nothing but darkness remained. Alex began to breath harder as the air thinned around him the stuff was disgusting bitter with sulfur and smoke.

"Not even decent air in my final moments." He gasped as he began to slip into unconsciousness. He felt something…what was it? His gloved hand brushed the ground beneath him… It was sinking…crumbling away. He felt the stone beneath him give way and the dusty air of the cavern rush by. As he fell he heard a new sound…a roar constant and unchanging. The last thing Alex felt was his body hitting the water…he slipped into unconsciousness as the vicious currents dragged him under.

Yeah I know it's the third time I've posted this thing… I've been rewriting chapters and making little edits here and there. Anyway until Chapter two is up review or Email me your comments. Heck you can Email me if you want to talk about other things…I got nothing to do anyway, might as well have a conversation over the net with a random person that I don't know personally.


	2. Masked Warrior

_First off I'd like to thank those who reviewed and answer any questions they may have asked… so here we go!_

_Golden Sun is the property of Camelot and Nintendo._

Alex woke to find himself staring into the pale blue face of a man. He blinked twice to clear his eyes…it couldn't be who he thought it was. "Saturos?" He muttered as he pulled himself out of the bed.

The man laughed, "No Alex, Saturos and Menardi are still dead…as are Agatio and Karst...my name is Fernez."

Alex got up and started to get dressed. He scowled when he took a look at his cloths. They had been freshly washed, but patches were visible all over them, hiding holes and frayed cloth. "How did I end up here in Prox?"

Fernez smiled again as he handed him his cape "A man found you…where and how is a mystery."

"Did he retrieve my weapons as well?" Alex said as he looked about for his swords.

"No he said you had no weapons…only this dagger." Fernez said pulling an ornate dagger from his belt. He handed it to Alex who quickly stuck it in his own belt.

"This man…what did he look like?" Alex said as he checked his remaining gear for any signs of tampering.

Fernez paused "To be honest I don't know who he is…we have never seen him…or anyone like him before." he said as the door opened suddenly smashing against the wall ending their conversation.

Alex turned as a man stepped through the doorway blocking entrance completely. The man was clad in pitch black armor made of a strange material; the cloak he wore was tattered and worn from travel and countless battles. A black Katana sword was strapped to his back by a thick cloth, and his belt carried a number of odd instruments. The most interesting of which was a pipe like object about three feet long. As for his face a mask of dark matter covered it hiding it from view...even the narrow eye slits of the mask were barely visible, thanks to the dark brown locks of hair that veiled them.

The man stood in front of the door not moving or speaking…finally with deliberate slowness he stepped to the side tilting his masked head towards Fernez "Please leave us…I wish to speak with him alone." Fernez nodded and left, closing the door behind him.

Alex's new host stepped away from the door taking one of the two chairs in the room. He motioned to the other one as he sat down Alex took the chair and shoved it closer to the host so they could talk face to face.

The masked man spoke first "Now then Alex…what do you want to know?"

Alex grunted as he pulled on his gloves. "First how do you know my name?"

"It was easy to figure it out…use your imagination." the masked man said.

"I would assume a villager told you… now, what is your name?"

"You can call me Kain…any more questions?"

"Yes, why did you save my life?" Alex said, his hand straying to his dagger.

"I believed it would be beneficial to both of us if you were alive." He stood brushing his hair out of his eyes, exposing the narrow slits in the mask "I want to accompany you Alex."

Alex laughed. "What need would I have for someone like you!" Alex raised his right hand and Kain was thrown against the far wall…strangely he got up brushing himself off as if nothing had happened. "_He should have been knocked unconscious, but he wasn't even fazed by the attack…" he thought to himself._ Kain began walking towards him, surprised and annoyed Alex began pushing him back with his psynergy, but he kept coming until he was standing in front of Alex.

"I know that you seek Alchemy Alex. I know that you will fail if you try to do so alone." Kain said stepping back, trying to stand against the powerful force that was pushing him backward.

Alex was shocked. "How do you know of Alchemy…of my quest?"

Alex could almost hear the laughter in the mans voice as he spoke. "You mean you haven't figured it out?" 

Suddenly it came to Alex. "You are a Jupiter adept?" 

"Maybe…"

Alex spoke again. "How did you read my mind without me knowing?" 

"The fact that you have been unconscious for three weeks made it a simple task."

Alex let out a low growl of anger. "Then my only options are to accept your offer, or kill you." Kain nodded, moving to the door, awaiting Alex's decision. Finally Alex spoke again. "Fine you may come with me, on the condition that I lead our little group."

Kain nodded in agreement and turned to leave, but he stopped and turned his masked head "Who is Felix?"

Alex froze startled by the question. "Felix was a friend of mine…no…an ally. Now I am his enemy."

Kain turned to the door again "Alex, do not be so swift to turn against your companions. Felix is powerful, and with his friends he is nearly invincible…if we encounter him and what you say is true…" he shrugged and stepped outside, closing the door behind him.

Alex stood and grabbed what remained of his things as he followed his new companion outside into the cold morning air.

Prox was beautiful in the early morning air. Small rays of light that penetrated the thick layers of clouds spread small rays of color across the snow covered wastelands. Every few minutes a weary villager came outside to gather snow, which would be melted into fresh drinking water and used for the daily task. Alex took a deep breath…he loved the air of the northlands. And the cold really never bothered him very much either. Personally he would rather be back in Vale at the moment. But it was not so…and it probably would not be for quite some time. Alex spotted Kain's dark clothing easily in the white snow, he came up behind the man and stood there…waiting.

Kain turned to Alex a few moments later. "Reaching Vale will be difficult…ever since the lighthouses were lit the weather has been more unpredictable, and monsters are more abundant. I have a ship, but we may need another crew member to sail safely."

Alex snorted. "You got to Prox alone and from your condition I would say it wasn't difficult."

Kain nodded. "Yes but it was very difficult to sail the ship and fend of monsters at the same time…besides more crew means less work…the ship runs on psynergy. I can run it for awhile and so can you but we wouldn't reach Vale without a rest then we would be vulnerable to a monster attack with no means of escape."

Alex nodded "Than I suppose that we have no choice…you ready the ship I'll ask around and see if anyone wants to come along."

"Alright…happy hunting Alex." Kain said, before turning away and trudging down the path into the deep snow…in minutes he had vanished. Alex headed back into town kicking stones along the way.

"Well this is unfortunate…I never expected to live through Mt Alph…I don't know whether to be thankful or depressed." Alex mumbled, as he turned back to the town, intent on finding another member for the crew.

Ahhhhh the second chapter is revised and posted… nice, eh?. Also I wanted to thank those who reviewed the prologue… right now I'm working on the third and fourth chapters, both of which need some major changes. Hopefully they'll both be up by the end of the week, expect to see chapter three by Wednesday or Thursday. Until then review and email me suggestions I love feedback and I don't mind using others ideas so if you have character suggestions or want to see a particular event unfold let me know and I'll try to put it in my fic.


	3. New arrivals, new mysteries

_First off I'd like to thank those who reviewed and answer any questions they may have asked… so here we go!_

_Golden Sun is the property of Camelot and Nintendo._

Kain walked through the deep snow humming to himself as he made his way to his ship. So far he had made good time, the snow was firm and thickly packed allowing him to travel quickly across the northern wastelands. After a half hour walk he finally reached the Tidal River. Kain stood at the bank of the river his jeweled eyes shifting from it to the solid snow. Finally he made his decision and stepped onto the ice, taking a deep breath he began to walk quickly across the ice, in a few minutes he was running across the slick surface. He kept running for half an hour or so before the ice suddenly ended, leaving him suspended ten feet above the frozen river. He had reached a small waterfall and hadn't stopped in time…now he was falling to the ice below.

Kain calmly pulled the pipe from his belt, depressing a button on its side…there was a clicking sound, and the pipe split open at both ends. From the open ends a new pipe came. In seconds the three foot pipe was over nine feet long. Kain braced himself as the end of the staff struck the ice punching a deep hole in it. He pressed the button again, and the staff collapsed on itself lowering him to the ground. Kain gave a quiet laugh and pulled the pipe from the ice, latching it onto his belt. He began to walk, but froze almost immediately, his masked face jerked to either side of him. Seeing nothing he stopped moving and held his breath…after a few seconds he coiled the muscles in his legs and jumped landing eight feet away in a crouch. He waited patiently, drawing his black Katana from its sheath in one smooth movement…something was amiss.

The ice began to tremble at the base of the waterfall where Kain had been only seconds ago. Suddenly a huge horn clear as crystal burst through the thick ice, showering the area with deadly shards. Kain's Katana slashed through the cold air knocking the ice shards to the ground with calculated precision. Only a few of the projectiles made it through Kain's blocking, and those that did hit the ground behind him…unfortunately one of the smaller shards managed to strike him in the face, tearing through his mask, splattering hot blood onto the ice.

Kain's left hand drifted to his face wiping blood from the jeweled eyes of his mask. He looked at his bloody hand and snorted. Unimpressed he wiped his bloody hand on the ice staining the glass like surface. Kain stood up sword held in his right hand while he inspected the wound with his left tracing the gash in the mask with one gloved hand. While he was doing this the monster below the ice started to pull itself from the river. Kain watched as a sea serpent rose from the water leaving its watery home for the harsh winds of the northlands. Pale blue scales glittered dully as the serpent turned to face him, its forked tongue flicking through the air.

Kain looked on admiring the deadly creature; it was at least twenty feet long, its scales the color of pale ice and atop its slender head was a single transparent horn. Its mouth was beak like, lined with small sharp teeth each one over six inches long, transparent like the horn atop its head. It had four legs each one was at least eight feet long, heavily laden with muscle. Its feet were huge clawed instruments of death, easily able to tear through flesh and bone in seconds. Even worse though, were that the toes were connected by thick pads of flesh that would support the beast on the snow. Kain stayed calm unmoving as the beast shook water from its scaled hide. He had heard of these serpents they were extremely rare, supposedly they waited beneath ice and snow for their unsuspecting prey when they finally found a meal there was little chance of escape. Their long legs and large feet allowed them to run across the snow with incredible speed allowing them to chase down all but the fastest of prey.

The beast took a step forward, thin strands of salvia dripping from its monstrous mouth. Kain stood his ground using his free hand to pull a bandage from his medicinal pouch. He squeezed the bandage in his fist before lodging it in his mask, satisfied that his wound was taken care of Kain turned his attention to the gigantic serpent.

The serpent gave a quite growl annoyed that its prey had been ignoring it for so long. When their eyes finally meet the serpent's anger and hunger overpowered its caution. It charged forward long legs propelling it through the deep snow and over the ice, when it was within ten feet of Kain it started lashing out with its spiked tail. Kain pressed the button on his staff increasing its size once again he jammed the weapon into the ice with all of his strength, he succeeded in getting the nine foot pole to sink three feet into the ice satisfied that it was secure he leapt away as the serpents tail raced towards him. The serpent's tail smashed into the staff with a crack…the force of the blow uprooted the staff sending it into a deep snow bank. The serpent's reaction was quite different it roared in agony lashing it tail across the ice smashing river stones to dust. Kain smirked the creature had underestimated the strength of his staff…it had hit the pole so hard that the vertebrae in its tail had broken…though it was not a mortal wound the pain would be almost unbearable and its tail was practically useless.

Kain leapt to his feet and ran to his staff yanking the heavy metal tube from the snow bank and returning it to its normal length. Suddenly he felt something hit him from behind sinking into his flesh, before he knew what had happened he was sailing through the air propelled by the serpent's clawed fist. He hit the ground hard smashing into the base of the waterfall with enough force to crack its frozen surface. Kain stumble to his feet using his pipe for support, he reached for his Katana and realized that it had been knocked out of his hand, snarling he spun the pipe in his hands before pressing a hidden switch on its side. The pipe doubled its length and each end opened up revealing two narrow spearheads each one almost a foot long. Kain spun the twin headed spear in his hands waiting for the serpent to attack. The serpent paused for a moment eyeing the new weapon with contempt and fear. It snorted in frustration and smacked its tail against the ground, pain momentarily forgotten. It opened its mouth letting out a loud hiss as water shot from its mouth drenching Kain. It stopped and watched in satisfaction as the water began to freeze in the cold air immobilizing Kain in a prison of ice. Kain shudder as the ice crept up his shrouded form forcing wounds open and freezing skin. He frowned behind his mask and raised a frozen hand. A stream of fire fell from the sky smashing into him thawing the ice in an instant. Kain flexed his muscles and charged driving the spear into the serpent's chest forcing the enormous creature back. The serpent let out a weak roar as it tried to yank the spear from its chest Kain shook his head and pulled back on the staff. The serpent roared in agony as the weapon began to change inside of it the deadly spear blade had opened inside of the beast locking its deadly blades inside the sea dragon's chest. Kain yanked hard making sure the spear was lodged firmly in its chest before leaving to go find his Katana.

Five minutes later he returned with the black blade safely held in its sheath. The serpent was still struggling weakly on the ice now stained crimson with its thick blood. Kain walked through the puddle of gore stopping at the creature's head…he paused and drew his Katana in one fluid motion the serpent's life was ended. Kain reached down and righted the serpent's head before swinging again cutting the horn from the creature's severed head. Satisfied with his work Kain picked up the horn tucking it under his arm he held the black blade in his hands watching as it absorbed the blood, satisfied he returned the black blade to it sheath. He snorted in contempt and yanked the spear from the beast chest pausing momentarily to inspect the four barbed blades for damage before folding them back into their original spearhead position. Kain knelt wiping the bloody spear on the ground before returning the deadly weapon to its original size and latching it to his belt. He examined his wound again…satisfied that it would be fine for a while longer he looked into the distance for any sign of Alex, not seeing anything on the horizon he turned away and began walking down the river bank...

Meanwhile Alex was having a hell of a time trying to find someone to join his little band. So far the only people who had shown any interest were the neighborhood children. He sighed and made his way to the inn… maybe he would find someone there.

He reached the Inn rather quickly thanks to his warp spell as he opened the door he heard a scream from inside. He dashed in hoping he could help before it was to late, to his surprise he was greeted by the sight of a large object rushing towards his face rather than a fight.

He woke up almost immediately before him a young woman was laughing her face red with exertion "You should have seen your face!" she cried tears of joy streaming her eyes.

Alex pulled himself off the floor, clutching nose "I heard a scream…" he muttered as he checked his face.

The girl laughed again "That was me…you came in at the wrong time." she said poking his chest "I was changing the sheets on the beds."

Alex backed away from her pulling his hands from his face "Changing sheets…it sounded like someone was being murdered."

The girl was about to speak when another girl slightly older than the first interrupted "Actually she was forcing her brother to change the sheets."

The girl spun snapping at the other "Quiet I can explain myself Teyra!"

Definitely Mars adepts…and siblings Alex thought to himself. The two launched into a furious argument completely forgetting about him.

He turned to leave but the younger girl stopped him "Where do you think you're going?"

"I was going to ask the innkeeper a question but you two are blocking my way." he said quietly.

The girls stood back making a path for Alex "Go on…we didn't mean to keep you." Alex squeezed between them keeping a careful eye on his clothing…Mars adepts were notorious for setting peoples attire aflame for trivial reasons.

Thankfully Alex made his way to the innkeeper without further incident. The innkeeper was female, around forty years old and plain looking with the pale blue skin one of the more noticeable trademarks of the people of Prox. "Sorry about those two they're sisters." She said with a smile.

"I know." Alex muttered…only siblings fought like that.

"Can I help you?" the innkeeper asked.

"I was wondering if any travelers are staying here."

"No…no travelers here…the last ones we had were Felix and his band...oh and that man with the mask…he was here." She said.

"Yes I meet him."

"Oh…well I'm sorry those were the only travelers we've had recently…are you going on that mans ship?"

"Yes."

"Well be careful Alex no one knows anything about him…"she said turning away.

Alex nodded and turned to leave but was stopped once again by the two girls. "Why were you looking for travelers?" The younger 

girl said.

Alex squeezed by her and made his way to the door ignoring the question, suddenly he felt a small hand grab his shoulder firmly "I asked you a question!"

He smiled and turned to face her "I wanted to know if any travelers were staying here."

"I know that already!" she said indicating the innkeeper "Why are you looking for travelers?"

"My companion and I are leaving…we need another member."

She "Your companion…is he the masked man?"

"Yes."

"Then you must be Alex…excuse me for a moment." the girl ran over to the innkeeper "I'm going with Alex." The innkeeper nodded not looking up from her desk.

Alex immediately spoke up "I need someone who can help on the ship."

The girl walked up to him. "What makes you think I can't?"

"It could be dangerous." Alex said trying his best to change her mind…instead she turned and ran upstairs. Alex cringed as he 

heard various crashes and cursing, unfortunately she returned a short while later carrying a huge suitcase…she stopped to give her sister and brother a hug before walking to Alex staggering under her heavy load.

"Probably emptied her room." he thought to himself as he opened the door for her.

She skipped by throwing the suitcase at him as she passed. "Be a dear and carry this." she said cheerfully.

Alex grunted as he tried to get a firm grip on the case "Lets go…I want to get to the ship before my back gives."

Four hours later Alex finally saw the mast of a ship in the distance, he let out a tremendous sigh of relief.

"Look there it is!" The girl squealed hopping up and down in excitement. Alex replied with a groan of pain as he struggled over the hill.

The journey to the ship had been hell…the girl had talked all the way in fact he couldn't remember if she had closed her mouth. As for the suitcase he was carrying it had fallen through the ice near the body of a dragon. Unfortunately the girl had fished it out not caring if anything inside was ruined…out of kindness he had agreed to carry it to the ship. Unfortunately the water logged case was even heavier than before.

As they came over the hill they stopped to admire the ship. The vessel was large at least forty feet in length with three masts each sporting a triangular sail. The hull was made of some strange wood that Alex had never seen before and along the sides were symbols that he couldn't identify. Waiting by the rope ladder that led to ships deck was Kain…to Alex's surprise his companion was bleeding...the mask that covered his face was torn open and a bandage had been shoved in the hole to cover the wound and stop the bleeding. The masked man stared at them for a few seconds unmoving; finally he jumped over the side of the ship landing on the snow below. He came up to Alex and wordlessly grabbed the case, returning to the ladder he climbed it effortlessly dropping the case onto the deck. Alex lifted an eyebrow and the girl fluttered her eyelashes "He's so strong!" she said with a sigh.

"I wonder what happened to him…" Alex thought to himself ignoring the flirtatious girl at his side as Kain returned sliding down one of the thick ropes that locked the ship to the makeshift dock.

Kain turned to them glancing at the girl as he approached Alex "Who's the girl?"

"She's our new member." he said with a smile.

Kain inspected her through the narrow eyes of his mask. She was fifteen with blue tinted skin and red eyes. Her hair was rust red falling to her shoulders; as for her clothing she wore a short skirt and vest both were a dark shade of brown…ideal for travel. The cold mustn't be bothering her at all for her to wear such clothing. He turned to Alex "I believe you made a good choice Alex. However you haven't even asked her name."

"Stay out of my mind Kain!" Alex growled.

Kain waved him off "I didn't read your mind…I read hers." he turned to the girl "What is your name?"

"I am Miyarya but I prefer to be called Myra."

Kain nodded and turned away walking up to one of the stout ropes that kept the ship anchored firmly to the shore he pulled out a knife slicing through it with ease. "I suggest you board now when I cut these ropes the current will drag the ship into deeper water." he cut the next rope and hurried towards the third.

Alex grabbed Myra's arm and disappeared in a flash of psynergy reappearing on the deck of the ship. Alex and Myra watched from the deck as Kain continued cutting the ropes finally he reached the last one. He brought the knife down with one swift slash severing the thick cable and the ship lurched forward. Kain returned the knife to his belt and watched as the ship was dragged out to sea. He raised his masked head and disappeared…as though he had never existed.

Alex made his way to the wheel determined to take control of the ship before it smashed into the ice that littered the sea before them, to his surprise Kain stood at the wheel guiding the ship through the dangerous waters. Kain's head turned slightly "Where is Myra?"

"Below deck…unpacking."

Kain nodded and turned to the ocean "That's for you." he said indicating a parcel on the deck. Alex picked it up unwrapping it…to his surprise it was a beautiful sword made from a strange crystal. "The blade is made from the horn of a sea serpent." Kain said quietly. 

"It looks fragile…"

"I strengthened the blade with mythril only a incredibly powerful blow could scratch it let alone break it."

"Hmmm…did it come from the dragon I saw on my way here?" Alex said as he examined the blade.

"Yes...there are actually two blades there press the pommel stone" Alex pressed the stone to his surprise the blade spilt in two revealing the twin light blades.

"You said you got the horn from a sea serpent…did it give you that wound?"

"Yes…it gave me a few others as well…" Kain said lifting his cloak. Alex blinked in surprise Kain breast plate was torn open reveling two large puncture wounds and some cuts.

"How you can even stand is beyond my comprehension…those wounds need attention immediately."

"If you are concerned you may use Ply, either way I will be fine."

"I think that it would be best if I used Ply…I can't risk those wounds becoming infected or you bleeding out."

"I wouldn't worry about that but feel free to do as you will."

Alex nodded and raised a hand in his gloved palm a tiny fairy appeared Alex motioned to the wound and the fairy flew forward using its psynergy to close the wound… in seconds the slash was gone leaving a bloodstained cheek in its place. Alex motioned to the wounds on Kain's chest and the fairy used it power again closing the wounds with ease.

Alex turned away walking towards the steps that led to the deck below "I think you can clean yourself up…right now I think I'll get some rest…" Kain nodded turning the wheel slightly "I will stay here and keep the ship on course."

"Alright if you need someone to relieve you come fetch me."

"That wont be necessary but thanks for the offer…"

Alex sighed and walked down the steps to the long corridor below. He continued towards the rear of the ship and entered the main cabin. To his surprise it was empty and full of dust as though it hadn't been used in a long time…in fact all of the rooms he had been in were in the same condition. He heard a scream as a bright flash lit up the galley…walking in he discovered Myra launching fire into the oven she looked up and gave a little smile "Uh mice living in the oven…don't worry their gone now."

"I can see that." Alex said indicating the ashes that had once been mice.

"Yeah well this ship is a dump…I've been in every room and there's two inches of dust in each one. And the galleys even worse…look at this were wading in the stuff!"

"Its strange that the galley is untouched…in fact I don't think Kain has been in any of these rooms for a long time…" Alex said leaning against the wall.

"Yeah…hey will you help me clean this place up? Kain may be able to stand this but I can't."

"I'll be happy to help you." Alex said throwing her a mop "I'll wash this dust out you mop."

"Fine." Myra said as Alex used his psynergy to wash down the floor.

"It's going to be a long day…" he thought to himself "Far to long."

I apologize that I didn't update when I promised… I got a really bad case of writers block after I updated my other story.


	4. Proxian Stew

_First off I'd like to thank those who reviewed and answer any questions they may have asked… so here we go!_

Enigma: Glad you liked it. I'll try to update both of my stories more frequently. ^_^

Lu Sheeta: Glad to hear that you liked the chapter…for now on most of em will be 3,000+ words long. And I'll check out your fanfic, but I'm not a real fan of Harry Potter, so my feedback will be focused on your writing style rather than the story itself.

Wolfarine: Glad you liked what I did with Kain. That chapter was revised, especially the battle between Kain and the Serpent.

Icy Cake: _ Grrrrrrrr…you always point out my typos! ^_^ But you always review to. So I guess I need to thank you! By the way I revised that chapter just for you! Happy now? I am! ^_^

_Golden Sun is the property of Camelot and Nintendo._

Myra mopped the floor quietly as Alex used his water psynergy to wash dust out of the ship. They heard a shout of surprise and Kain appeared in the doorway. At first the dark robed man just stood there watching as water swirled around his feet, after a few moments he finally spoke "Hmmm…are you two enjoying yourselves?"

Myra dropped her mop and put her hands on her hips. "Shut up! Why isn't this place clean!? Don't you ever use it?"

Kain shrugged. "I use this ship to get around…I prefer to stay above on the main deck, the last time I came down here was...a really long time ago…I can't remember exactly how long ago…"

"You could help us at least!" Myra said a slight snarl in her voice.

"I won't be using this section of the ship…clean it yourself!" Kain said, closing the door in her face.

"Who does he think he is talking to me like that!" Myra shouted swinging her mop at Alex who stepped out of the way, barely managing to avoid the stout cleaning tool.

Alex sighed and sat down in one of the galley chairs. "He has a point Myra it's his ship and we're guest on it…he's made it clear that he rarely uses this section of the ship, so he refuses to waste his time cleaning it."

"What about being courteous!? Where are his manners!?"

"I doubt he cares about being courteous to us Myra…" Alex said.

"Well I refuse to let him treat me that way!" Myra said throwing down her mop. "I'll show him!" She said running out of the room, her crimson eyes glowing with a furious light.

"Why can't things go as planned?" Alex muttered as he followed the irate Mars adept. "She's gonna get us killed before we even reach Vale!"

Kain was standing on the deck observing the clouds when Myra charged up the steps. "Kain!"

The masked man turned, brushing some of his brown hair out of his eyes. "Yes Myra?"

"Apologize!"

"I fail to understand why I should apologize."

"You insulted both of us! Now apologize and help us clean this ship!" Myra growled, her fist shaking with barely contained fury.

Kain leaned back against the wheel. "I apologize if I sounded insulting, that was not my intention."

"Alright I'll accept that; now, come help us!"

Kain shook his head. "As I said before I see no reason to clean the lower decks…"

"We will be using them!"

"Yes you two will…I plan on staying up here."

Myra growled lowered in pitch, sounding more like a deep roar. "Come NOW!"

Kain laughed. "Fine…what will you do for me in return?"

"What? You want me to do something for you!?"

"Yes."

Myra frowned. "What."

"Can you patch clothing?"

"Yes."

"Fine take this." Kain said pulling his cloak from his back and throwing it at Myra, along with a needle and thread. Myra snatched the cloak out of the air and examined it for holes; she found one of them and gasped. The hole was huge over ten inches across and very badly frayed.

"What did you do to this thing?" She cried, still trying to get over the initial shock she received from catching sight of the enormous hole.

"That doesn't matter just stitch it up and I'll help Alex clean the ship."

"What about the wheel?" Alex said, a note of concern in his calm voice.

"That's not a problem…the ocean is clear for now, and I'll sense any changes in the weather long before they reach us."

"Alright…lets go then." Alex said Kain nodded and walked over to Alex, but he stopped and turned back to Myra. "Myra can you patch this?" he said, indicating his broken mask, still stained red with dried blood."

"I…I don't know…"

Kain sighed and turned away. "Then I'll fix it myself…lets go Alex."

Alex nodded and the two men rushed down the steps intent on finishing their chores as quickly as possible. Myra sighed and began stitching the cloak…this was going to take a really, really long time…

Kain and Alex made good time; Alex was using his water psynergy to wash the dust off everything, while Kain used a miniature tornado to suck the dirty water out of the ship. In an hour they had finished cleaning the lower deck and all of the cabins. Kain laughed "One more deck to go Alex." he said opening a door.

"Yes…when we finish this maybe we can eat."

"Yes…well lets get started…be careful down here. I'm not sure what condition things are in…"

Kain held up a hand and a small fire began to burn in his palm, covering the walls with flickering shadows. "You first Alex."

Alex went down the steps followed by Kain, to his surprise the area was clean. "This is odd…" Alex muttered.

"This is a special ship…in storms the water rises and floods this deck, then the ship pumps the water out through these hoses." Kain said pointing at one of twelve thick metal hoses hanging from the ceiling.

"I have never seen a ship with such mechanisms…not even Saturos and Menardi's ship had such unique technology."

"Their ship was Lemurian, intend only for travel…this is a ship that belonged to the ancients…it was built when Alchemy still existed in Weyard. When Alchemy was lost the ship lost some of its functions as well. Now that Alchemy has returned many of those have been restored…"

"You knew Saturos and Menardi?" Alex asked quietly.

"Not personally, the people of Prox told me stories. They also told me of the ship that they owned…it was a simple task. Finding out what their ship contained and who had built it." Kain said.

Alex nodded and turned his attention to the room. "Why are we here if we don't need to clean this place?" Alex said, indicating the spotless floor.

"When this deck floods sea creatures can wash in with the water…sometimes they get stuck in the hoses. We need to flush the hoses for any debris."

Alex looked at the hoses, they seemed clean enough to him… "What's the purpose of such devices?"

"These hoses can keep the ship from sinking if it takes on water…in addition they keep it from being tossed around in storms by flooding the deck. It's not necessary to use them, but they could be useful in the future if we run into bad weather."

Alex smiled. "Alright lets get to work then."

Kain nodded and pulled a net off the wall "Spread this on the floor, the larger objects will need to be dragged to the next deck using that hook." Kain said pointing at a thick cable on the ceiling.

Alex and Kain finished spreading the net easily using psynergy. When they finished Kain walked over to the wall and pulled on of its many levers. There was a faint groan from the ship and the hoses started pumping out various things, from fish, to plant life. All of it ended up in a big pile of squirming debris.

Something white caught Alex's eye, he reached into the pile of rubbish and pulled out a human skull. "Where did this come from?" He said, rotating the skull in his hands.

Kain looked at the skull and shrugged "In the days of the ancients wars were fought over Alchemy. This was a war ship…this chamber was designed to help the ship stay afloat, it was also used to execute prisoners of war…they would throw the prisoners in here and chain them to the walls. If the ship was attacked and stood a good chance of being boarded the captain would pull a lever next to the wheel and flood the chamber, drowning the prisoners…"

Alex looked at the skull, examining the empty sockets "…I never knew the war of Alchemy was so furious…they even fought on the ocean…"

"The war of Alchemy was a terrible time of great strife…thousands were killed by the power of the Stone of Sages, some of the technology you will find on this ship was designed specifically for war…if you want they're some books in the study that I've collected over the years."

"Hmmm…" Alex threw down the skull and reached into the pile of rubbish yet again. This time he pulled out a necklace of gold and silver, attached to it was pendant shaped like a circle, in the center of the pendant was a cross.

"That probably belonged to our friend here." Kain said, nudging the skull with his boot. "You may keep it if you wish…"

"…I think it may be useful in the future…" Alex said, tucking the necklace into his pocket. Kain nodded and tied the net shut; he attached the net to the hook and pulled another one of the levers. The ceiling above them spilt open and the rope began to pull the net upward, towards the main deck. "Lets go throw that overboard." Kain said, Alex nodded and followed Kain up the steps.

Myra sighed; she had just finished stitching Kain's cloak…the thing was ancient! He should have tossed it long ago! While she had been stitching it she found multiple patches…evidently the thing had taken quite a beating. She smiled and folded it up intending to lay it on the deck, but she paused and lifted it to her nose…it smelled…strange. After sniffing the cloak a few times she recognized the smell…blood. The cloak reeked of blood and death; she frowned and threw the cloak to the deck. Suddenly the deck shifted and began to open beneath her, with a scream she fell into the hole landing on something big and squishy. She looked at what she was on, and screamed. She was stuck on top of a net; the thing was full of unrecognizable stuff…she had no idea what it was, but she was sure she did not want to find out.

"Are you alright Myra!?" Alex called from above; she looked up and saw him standing at the edge of the hole with Kain who was putting on his cloak.

"I'm alright!"

Kain turned to Alex "I suppose I should have warned her…oh well. What's done is done. Myra try not to touch what's in that net, I'm not sure what it is!"

Myra pulled her hand away from the "stuff" and stood up. "Ewwww…this is so gross." She said sticking her tongue out.

The net reached the deck and the hole closed, setting the slimy squirming ball of "stuff" on the deck. Kain raised a hand and the net lifted off the deck with Myra on it. "Lady Myra I suggest you jump off before you end up in the drink…"

Myra nodded and jumped off the net. Kain swung his hand and the net flew over the side of the ship. It opened up dropping its contents into the sea. Kain used his psynergy to run the net through the water a few times before bringing it up to the deck to dry.

Kain sighed and straightened his unruly brown hair. "There, I fulfilled the end of my bargain…now why don't you make a meal Myra?"

"You want me to cook?"

"If you can cook, yes, that would be helpful." Kain said, a slight laugh in his voice.

"I can cook! I'll make a great meal!" Myra said, fuming at the hidden insult.

Kain smiled behind his mask. "The supplies are in the galley."

"Okay!" Myra said leaping down the steps and landing with a loud crash. "Ouch! Who put this Barrel here!?"

Kain shook with silent laughter "I did that…she was a good choice Alex…very entertaining. Now I will continue steering the ship, why don't you help Myra? I don't want her setting my ship alight…"

"I'll be happy to help her if it means keeping this ship intact." Alex said with a smile, he lifted a hand, and disappeared.

Kain shrugged and returned to the wheel, he sighed and looked up into the sky. It was growing dark with clouds and lightening flashed, cutting through the dark veil like a knife…the water was getting noticeably rougher as well.

"Hmmm…may be getting that storm sooner than expected…" He said to himself. Suddenly there was a loud explosion and a blast of smoke escaped the open hatch. Kain shrugged, and kicked the door shut. "With Myra around this ship won't last long…maybe I should install mythril plates…hmmm…"

"Myra!" Alex shouted as he doused a small fire with a jet of water. "What were you doing!?" Alex stiffened as he felt something dash up his vest, looking down he discovered a mouse. "Hmmm…Gah! Don't Myra!" he cried, frantically trying to wave off the furious adept who was preparing to blast the mouse and Alex into oblivion with a fireball.

"I HATE MICE!" she shouted throwing the ball of fire at Alex who jumped out the way, barely avoiding the dangerous attack.

"Myra it's just a mouse! Ahhh!" Alex jumped behind another counter as two balls of fire rushed at him. The flaming orbs smashed into the cabinets blasting them open in two furious explosions. Alex sighed and snatched the mouse off of his chest; he shoved the squealing rodent into a hole in the floor. Alex put his foot over the hole trapping, and effectively hiding it from Myra's view. "It's alright Myra it's gone!"

"Good…lets make dinner."

Alex nodded and pulled himself off the floor, allowing the mouse to run out the door. "Alright…what will we make?"

"Proxian stew!"

"What's that?" Alex said, a look of confusion on his face.

"Take whatever's available, throw it in some water, and boil it down to jelly…that's Proxian stew!"

Alex frowned "Can't we make something a little better than that?" he opened up one of the counters and peeked inside "There's plenty of food here…we could make something decent!"

"Proxian stew is wonderful, nothing can compare to it. Now throw me whatever's in there and fill this pot!" She said pulling a huge iron pot from under a shelf, she looked at it for a moment and lifted the lid. "I hear mice!" she calmly made another fireball and dropped it into the pot, with a loud bang the lid was launched out the window and the pot was cleared of any living things. Alex stood pressed against the wall; the lid of that pot had almost decapitated him! Myra wasn't going to kill him with her Proxian stew…she'd do it herself long before then!

Kain was steering the ship when a loud bang and a crash got his attention. He ducked his head slightly allowing a spinning disk laced with fire to race over his head and soar out to the ocean. He calmly stood up and looked at the broken window that the disk had flown through. "Hmmm…wonder if Alex lived through that one?" He heard Alex shouting angrily and another bang, followed by more shouting from both Alex and Myra. "Well he's alive…for now…" Kain said quietly turning back to the wheel. "Maybe I should help." Another explosion and Alex flew out of the broken window, landing next to Kain in a smoking heap. Kain nudged Alex with his foot earning a slight groan from his comrade. "On second thought…I think I'll stay here for now…hmmm she's burning something…"

"That would be me." Alex said pulling himself to his feet, a frown plastered on his pale face.

"…I knew that…"

Alex sighed sitting down on a barrel "She doesn't need any help."

"I can see that…is the galley intact?"

"…Most of the cabinets have been blown open, and the table is slightly scorched…other than that it's fine."

Kain sighed and smacked his masked head into the wheel with a loud crack. "I suppose I should have expected that at the least…still that pot was expensive…"

"Stews done!" Myra shouted from below.

Alex and Kain looked at each other and sighed "That didn't take very long…" the said in unison. Kain calmly locked the wheel in place and walked downstairs with Alex following him. They arrived in the galley to find Myra pacing in front of a bubbling pot of brown slug.

"It took you long enough sit down and eat!" She cried, throwing a small bowl to each of them.

"I'm on a diet…" Kain said quietly.

"Eat it or else!" Myra growled, her eyes flashing dangerously.

Kain picked a spoon up from the table and cautiously dipped it into the pot. He scooped up some of the stew and flipped the spoon upside down, the stew stayed in place firmly plastered to the spoon. Alex blinked a couple of times and pulled a shattered piece of cabinet from the floor, he poked the unmoving slug getting it to wobble a little. "I don't think it will come off…" Alex muttered as he poked the small blob even harder, still failing to dislodge it.

"Nonsense!" Myra cried smacking the spoon with her ladle, the blob of stew fell into the bowl Kain was holding. Instead of spreading out like a normal liquid it kept its shape.

Kain sighed. "Do you really think we want to eat this?"

"Its good for you! It will stick to your ribs!"

"And anything else it touches…" Kain said with a laugh, he held the bowl to his mask and sniffed the odd concoction. "You have the right ingredients, but you didn't mix it well enough, and it needs a little more water…Alex I'm sure you can take care of the water…I can mix it. Myra heat the pot and keep it at a constant temperature. The we may have something worthy of being called dinner."

Myra and Alex nodded, each of them fulfilled their duties while Kain lifted a hand and mixed the slug with a powerful whirlwind. In moments the once inedible substance became a meal.

"There it's done now…enjoy it." Kain said stepping out of the galley. Myra ran after him, grabbing his armored shoulder. She felt him tense as she grabbed his shoulder.

"You haven't eaten yet!" She exclaimed.

"Myra I'm not very hungry right now…I'm sure that the meal you made is delicious, but I don't feel like eating anything…" Kain said quietly.

"Alright…"

"I will be at the wheel if you need me." Kain said. He walked down the hall and disappeared into the shadows.

She walked back into the galley; Alex put on a smug smile, and pushed a bowl to her. "Well let's eat Myra, I can save some for him."

Myra grabbed her spoon and sat down. "Alright!"

Kain stepped out onto the deck and turned to the mast, he grabbed one of the ropes and began climbing the huge wooden spire. In moments he had reached the crows nest. Upon his arrival there he took of his cloak and unlatched all of his armor, placing it under a large piece of canvas. Sighing, he sat down and looked into the dark sky, jeweled eyes scanning the rolling clouds for signs of rain. He brushed the hair from his eyes and peeled the mask from his face, gritting his teeth as it peeled away, leaving only a dull pain. He stared at the mask with his own eyes, still sore from the sudden change in light. The mask was torn apart…the left side of it was torn open; it would take awhile to repair the damage. He sighed and touched his cheek…it was sticky with dried blood, and the flesh was still sore from the wound he had received. Something wet hit his cheek, breaking him out of his revere.

_"Rain…"_ He thought to himself. It had been such a long time since he had seen a storm of this magnitude…luckily he would be here to watch the whole thing. He smiled and pulled a cloth from his vest, he held it to the sky and let the rain wet it. When it was damp he used it to wipe his cheek and chest free of blood. He moved on to the mask, pulling some dark matter from his satchel, he pressed it against the mask mending the hole in seconds. He stood up and looked at the mask, in the dim light it looked void of life. He touched his own cheek, nothing…as lifeless as the mask he wore. He spun the mask in his hands until he was staring at the face side, which was filled with small tendrils, similar to those of a plant. He sighed and pressed it to his face, gritting his teeth as the tendrils stabbed into his face latching the mask in place.

"Time to go…" he said quietly. Standing up he jumped off the crows nest, landing lightly on the deck in a crouch.

He heard footsteps behind him. "Kain…" A soft voice…female.

He turned his head, catching sight of blue skin and long red hair. "Myra?"

The blue skinned girl smiled. "Yes…what were you doing up there?"

"When I need time alone I climb the crows nest…" Kain said, turning all the way around so they were facing each other.

"Oh…Alex froze some of the stew for you, when you want it I can heat it up for you."

Kain smiled. "Thank you Myra…could you get Alex up here please?"

"Why?"

"A storms coming…we may need to fight off some monsters, I want both of you on deck with me."

"Alright, I'll go get him."

Kain turned back to the sea, concern on his hidden face. "Hurry back…"

Sol Sabre: Hey what did ya think? Good or what? I know most of you probably want to know what Kain really looks like, but I'm not gonna tell you! Bwahahahahaha! I'm so very evil…Bwahahahahaha! Anyway take time to review and ask questions…HIT ME!

Kain: Alright! (Hits Sol Sabre in the stomach with his staff.)

Sol Sabre: Ouch… **Thump!** (Falls to floor unconscious.)

Kain: Hmmm…Alex get over here. I think I hit him a little to hard…

Sol Sabre: x_x

Alex: Don't worry everyone, he will post the next chapter as soon as he regains consciousness…


	5. Gains and losses

_First off I'd like to thank those who reviewed and answer any questions they may have asked… so here we go!_

Icy Cake… _ I'm trying! You try writing one of these chapters in one day! …By the way this chapter is just for you… ^_^

Wolfarine…Writers block sucks…I know cause it has kept me from typing this for almost a month! Or maybe a month? Eh…I'm not sure…anyway good luck and enjoy yourself! ^_^

_Golden Sun is the property of Camelot and Nintendo._

Also as a warning this chapter is rather bloody…close to R rated in some places. Don't read it if blood and death creep you out because both of those make up a lot of this chapter.

Alex was enjoying one of Kain's books in the ships study when Myra charged in, her face slightly flushed. "Alex we're needed on deck."

Alex sighed and closed his book. "What do we need to do?"

"The weather has taken a turn for the worse and Kain wants us on deck in case monsters appear."

"Monsters…fine I'll meet you on deck in a moment." Myra nodded and turned to leave. "Myra." Alex said.

"Yes?"

"Do you have a weapon? A sword or staff to use outside?" He asked.

"I have a dagger and my psynergy…in the rain it will be difficult to get any effective Mars attacks though…"

Alex stood up and began to rummage through one of the shelves in the study. He searched for a few seconds before pulling out a parcel wrapped in oilcloth. He opened the parcel and pulled out a sword. The blade was long and thin with a delicate and sharp looking point. The hilt was protected by a twisted length of metal that wrapped around the leather grip like an odd shield. Alex stared at the blade for a moment and handed it to Myra. "This is a rapier sword, do you know how to use it?"

"No…"

"A rapier swords true power is in the tip of the blade. If you need to use it a stab is far more effective than a slash. Against a man sized creature three inches of this blade could be fatal if you hit the right place. That dagger you have should be in your other hand if you use this. The rapier will be your main weapon and the dagger your back up, it can block an attack if used properly." He stated.

"Thank you…" She smiled. "This should be helpful if we end up fighting monsters."

Alex nodded. "Before you go remember this, if you're fighting a man or a beast that wields a heavy blade. That rapier will break if it is hit to hard. Be careful and use both of your weapons when fighting. The rapier is light and can only take a light blow, focus on dodging larger blades rather than deflecting them with that." He said, pointing at the rapeir.

Myra nodded and walked up the steps, sword in hand. Alex drew his own blade from its sheath, staring into the crystal blade with narrow eyes. "Well…tonight we'll see if Kain did a good job…" He sheathed the weapon and walked up the steps leaving the book open in his chair.

Kain sighed looking into the sky, his armor was still atop the mast in the crows nest…he decided it would be best to leave it off. It never helped him much any way… He leaned against the rail and sighed in bliss as the darkness of the night engulfed him…the already powerful wind and rain began to increase even more as the nifht progressed. He turned his head slightly to watch as Myra and Alex arrived on the deck, both of them staggered as a heavy gust of wind struck them. Kain snickered beneath his mask, his companions would not like the weather, and it was about to get much worse.

"Alright Kain we're here, what do you want us to do?" Alex said.

"I need one of you to take the wheel, I will drop the sails, in this weather a powerful gust might snap one of the mast and we cannot afford that. As for whoever remains…they will need to keep an eye open for monsters. I leave the last decision up to you two, I am going to get those sails down before something gives." Kain leapt onto the rope ladder of the mast and began to climb, ignoring the wind and rain focusing on his objective with a single mindedness that most people seemed to lack.

"I will take the wheel Myra, watch for anything suspicious." Alex said before moving to the wheel and taking it in his gloved hands.

Myra sighed "They get to do the fun jobs, and I have to sit around and keep an eye open for monsters…stupid jerks." She sat down her eyes burning with annoyance.

Kain finished with the rigging in record time, after the storm it would take awhile to get everything back in order…at least he had comrades to help him this time. On a previous voyage he had done the same thing…it had taken him over a day to put everything back together. He would not need to bother with the sails if he had what he needed to repair some of the complex mechanisms inside the ship. Unfortunately that was not the case and he had to use the sails to power the ship, unless an emergency presented itself. Kain finished securing the final lengths of rope to the mast before leaping down to the deck and landing next to Myra, startling her enough to make her scream in surprise.

"DON'T DO THAT!" She roared.

Kain shrugged and glanced over the side of the ship checking the horizon. "Didn't I tell you to keep an eye open for monsters? " He said quietly.

Myra jumped up and looked over the side of the ship, below were numerous small monsters. Some of them were trying to climb onto the deck, but they failed miserably. She sighed "It's not like they can get up here..."

"That is true, but that's not the point…that is." Kain said pointing at a dark image on the horizon.

Myra squinted trying to get a better look at the thing. "What is it?" She said.

"It is another ship…" Kain said quietly, concern in his voice.

"What's wrong with there being another ship on the sea?"

"You do not realize how few ships are on this ocean…aside from that…the ship…it is derelict and everyone on board is…" Kain was silent, as though he was afraid to finsh his sentence.

"Dead?" Myra asked.

"No…not dead, and not alive either. I can see it from here…that ship is infested with undead sailors…" Kain said quietly.

"Are you sure? The undead are only myths…" Myra said, brushing her damp hair from her eyes.

Kain sighed and reached up to his mask. His fingers slipped around the jewel like eye and snapped it out of its place. "Look through this and you can see for yourself." He said, handing her the masks eye. She took it and held it up to her face, closing one eye and placing the jewel over the other. At once her vision was filled with a blood red haze, she looked at Kain first…he looked normal except for the red haze of course, but when she turned to the ship the image was mignified and she could see it perfectly…she dropped the jewel and knelt over the side losing her meal.

Kain knelt down and retrieved the lost eye, he wiped it off before placing it in the empty socket of his mask. "I should have warned you, accept my apologies…I should not have let you see that."

Myra straightened trying to control her urge to lose even more of her meal. "Its alright…how can they exist like that though…some of them are…" She turned green and knelt over the side again.

Kain watched emotionlessly his eyes still locked on the ship. "The undead do not need working organs…nor do they need all of the parts that are necessary for someone like you or me. The undead are abominations, they are not human…it is best to think of them as what they are now rather than what they were before Myra."

"Who were they? Before that…" She managed to say, before falling weakly to her knees.

"Sailors from Champa…they must have been killed in the tidal wave…how they were resurrected as undead beings is beyond me…but I am guessing that they…" He stopped speaking.

"What is it Kain?"

"There is someone on that ship…" He said, a hint of excitement and amazement in his voice

"We know that, but they're all dead."

"No this person is alive…I have no idea how they managed to survive but…"

"We need to help them!" Myra said, struggling to her feet with Kain's aid.

"…It would be best if we avoided the ship altogether Myra." Kain said, loking into her eyes.

"You said someone is alive on that ship! We need to help them!" She said, pointing at the far off vessel with a trembling hand.

"We are not obligated to do so…but…" Kain sighed "Ask Alex, he is the leader of this group."

"But this is your ship…Alex might not help them, he'll probably see it as an inconvenience."

Kain's jeweled eyes glittered in the dull light. "You really want to risk your life for someone you do not know? The person on that ship may be a murderer or thief. Maybe that person has done horrible things. Perhaps that person even controls the undead on that ship. Do you really want to take that chance Myra? We may all suffer if we approach that ship, let alone board it." Kain said.

Myra smiled grimly. "I want to do it. No one deserves to be killed by those things! No matter what they have done."

"…I know people that would say otherwise, but if you insist." Kain stepped away from her and approached Alex, she watched as Kain moved up beside the Mercury Adept and spoke into his ear. Alex frowned, but nodded in agreement and stepped away from the wheel. Kain took hold of the ship and began to turn the vessel while Alex made his way to Myra.

"We will approach that ship Myra, but only long enough to see if anyone is on board."

"And?"

"If what Kain says is true than we will try to rescue whomever is aboard."

"Alright." She shivered with suppressed fear…she wanted this…she would board the ship. Myra began to collect her wits, she would need to be prepared for whatever they found…whether it be good or bad."

The first thing Myra noticed was the smell…death. Far more powerful than anything she had smelled on Kain's cloak. The smell of death and decay practically writhed in the air as it assaulted their senses. Kain seemed unmoved by the powerful smell, but Myra and Alex were not so lucky. Alex turned slightly green, but was able to keep his stomach from ejecting its contents. While Myra emptied herself into the ocean for the third time in the past hour. The journey to the derelict ship had seemed to take an eternity, once they lost the ship in the fog and rain, but Kain had found it again using his heightened senses to see through the fog. Five minutes before they reached the ship he commented that they best prepare themselves for the smell. Myra had tried to do so, but failed miserably, while Alex managed to keep the same aura of calm disinterest about him. In moments they were able to see the ghostly ship in the fog…then they were within feet and she could see the deck of the vessel. Blood and brine were splashing across the deck, every few minutes a rat would appear and runs through the puddles of gore only to hide again. The ship was even larger than Kain's vessel. Like Kain had said the vessel was indeed a Champa pirate ship, one of the better ones. The great deck was moldy and rotten from months at sea, but it still managed to stay afloat, despite the neglect it has sufferd.

Kain locked the wheel in place and picked up a rope. He threw it to the other ship and managed to lock the heavy cable around a protruding piece of metal. Kain turned around and drew his blade. "I still sense life here…but it is fading…slowly. We need to hurry if we want to accomplish what we came for." He jumped across to the other ship Alex and Myra followed suit. "It would be best if we went together." Kain said quietly. "Try not to make to much noise…the undead are hungry, and noise will attract them." Alex and Myra nodded their blades clanking slightly as they shifted nervously from one foot to another.

"Myra and I will go together…Kain can you handle the upper decks while we check below?" Alex asked.

"I can." He motioned to his own ship. "I locked the doors…the undead cannot enter the ship so if any board us they will be on the deck. When you get on the ship be careful…they are not human and they can do things a normal person could never do. They feel no pain, mercy or despair. If you see one kill it without question, a thrust to the heart or brain is best aside from fire psynergy." He looked at Myra "When you find the person here…if you find the person…return to the ship. We will leave and sink this vessel so it will not harm anyone else." His companions nodded and Kain left, making his way towards the front of the ship.

Myra glanced at Alex. "What do we do first?" She asked.

"We check the deck…we don't want to be trapped below because we were foolish." Alex said. He stepped forward his blade at the ready. In moments they had checked the deck and decided it was safe. "They must be below…" He muttered. He heard a soft "plink" and looked down at his blade. A single drop of thick blood had landed on the crystal blades clean surface. He looked up and immediately averted his eyes, not telling Myra of the bodies that were hanging above their heads. _~It would be best if she did not know.~_ He decided, before urging her to follow him down the steps, and into the vessels lower decks.

Kain walked across the deck avoiding the bodies and remains he discovered along the way. Such things were mere inconveniences to him, still he did no wish to go sliding around in the remains of other people. He checked the mast and rigging quickly only to find bodies wrapped in the sails…those that lurked here were unable to reach them. He guessed that the few survivors had fled up into the rigging and wrapped themselves in it hoping to be rescued. However their plan had failed and they had died before anyone could help them, to scared to leave their minature prisons. It made him wonder how someone live through such an experience? It did not matter much to him, the person lived, and this alone was the most intriguing part of the whole mystery.

He reached the front of the ship and paused…where the figure head should have been was a human skeleton. It was bleached white by the sea and wind. He approached it carefully, seeing nothing of interest he walked down the steps near the wheel and into the dark corridor. The first thing he noticed was that the corridor was very hot…gasses from rotting food and flesh no doubt. The place also smelled terrible, but he paid it no heed and kept walking down the corridor, glancing into the various quarters of the crew…he found nothing. He continued to he captains quarters, suddenly, something leapt at him from the darkness of a small alcove. Kain's blade slashed through the air implanting itself in the rotting chest of the undead captain. Dressed in rags the dull eyed captain was a shadow of his former self…Kain looked at the decaying beast with a curious eye, and noticed a small piece of string on his left hand around the pinky finger…an old Champa custom…the man had been engaged before he left Champa. Kain wondered whom this man had been in love with before his untimely death, he wiped the thought from his mind. It no longer mattered to him or to the monster that had once been a man. Kain dislodged his blade and spun about, his dark blade flashing through the air and severing the creatures neck in two. The rotten head fell to the floor with a dull thump. Kain kicked it out of the way, and continued into the darkness, ruby eyes ever watchful for more monstrosities such as the one he had just discoverd.

Alex and Myra rushed through the lower corridors of the vessel, they had forgotten Kain's advice to stay quite. It would not do anything helpful in the situation they were in now. Oddly enough many of the undead crew had been waiting in a small storage room, unfortunatly Alex and Myra had gotten their attention. Now they were fleeing from the undead crew. In the tight corridors it was difficult to fight such beasts, especially when they were packed close together. Myra had already lost her dagger to one of them. She had been preparing to strike with her rapier when it grabbed the blade and pulled it from her grasp, it showed no sign of having felt any pain, and if it had Myra was too frightened to notice it. Alex had grabbed her and they turned away, running for the far end of the corridor. Alex's water psynergy was fairly useless against them, he had launched hundreds or shards of ice into the monsters, but they kept coming anyway. Myra was afraid that her fire psynergy would set the ship alight and trap them below with the beast, so they ran, trying to stay well ahead of the undead sailors, at least until they found the living one on board.

They finally reached the hold of the ship where Kain suspected the living person to be. The holds walls were smeared with blood but no bodies adorned the room. "After what we have seen…why is this room clean?" Myra croaked, her throat parched from the desperate dash to the hold.

"I can answer that young lady!" A voice called out. Before them a man appeared. He was young, no older than Alex. He was dressed in black robes and his skin was a pale white. In his right hand he held a staff adorned with a human skull. "All of the bodies were resurrected here." The man smiled.

Alex stepped back his sword at the ready. "You did this, am I correct?"

"Of course I did this!" The man waved his staff and undead sailors entered the room, each bearing a weapon. Some of them had spears or swords the others had hooks, clubs and other weapons that most people would not dare to use. "These are mine!" The man bellowed.

Myra glared in disgust. "Are you the one we came to save? We knew someone was alive here…if we had known it was a filthy necromancer like you we would not have come."

The necromancer glared back at her. "I have a name, it is Evan, don't bother putting it to memory for you will not live long enough to use it in any way. As for being alive…that is not I!" He laughed. "I am as dead as those around you, but I can control these ones, for god himself raised me from the dead!"

Alex frowned. "God would not resurrect someone to spread horrors such as you do. The god of this world is whomever controls alchemy!"

Evan smiled insanely. "Oh? This one thinks that he knows all does he!? Well you my friend are very wrong, so wrong, so foolish!"

Alex glared at the necromancer, his eyes frozen into an icy glare. "Where is the living person? Tell us now!"

"Ohhh! You want her? Tell me will you be willing to lose your lives to take her from me? My daughter whom I treasure and protect!" Evans face grew dark with anger. "I will not allow you to take my daughter from me, she is all that I have!" He motioned to a door and an undead sailor carried in a young girl in a white dress. Her eyes were closed and her face was deathly pale, she looked as dead as her father.

Myra's eyes went from the necromancer, to his daughter. "Sir your daughter cannot live like this…the disease on this ship has made her sick! Look at her face! The mere existence of you and these foul things has made her sick!"

"Nonsense girl! You speak lies with your forked Proxian tongue!" The necromancer waved his staff, and a bright ball of violet energy flashed from the staff to Myra. She dodged it and the energy ball hit one of the undead, reducing it to ash before her eyes. "Whether you like it or not my daughter will stay with me, as will you. You shall remain here as undead slaves to me and my daughter!"

"I doubt that." Alex said quietly. He steadied his blade and launched himself at Evan with lightening fast speed. The necromancer blocked the sword with his staff and kicked at Alex, who stopped the attack with his gloved hand.

"You are quite good…I think I'll have some fun with you before I take your life!" Evan cried. With a flash of demonic light he appeared behind Alex, and swung his staff low, knocking Alex's legs from under him. "Or maybe I was wrong and you are no more than a waste of my time, eh?" He swung the staff down, Alex rolled away and the heavy weapon broke the floor where he had been moments before. "Oh…wrong three times in a row…how unusual!" Evan smiled and his eyes glowed a slight red color. "Maybe…this will be fun after all!"

"I would not count on that!" Alex shouted as he used his psynergy to blast the insane necromancer away from him. Evan hit the wall hard, there was a snapping sound as his spine broke. But he got up, unfazed by the attack. He stretched trying to get his spine to realign, but it was futile. Evan smiled again.

"This is quite uncomfortable…and you are very strong if you can do such a thing…lets see how long you last!" Evan slashed his staff through the air and the undead began to march forward in a slow walk. "If you can defeat these…then you are worthy enough to fight me!" Evan grinned and walked over to the undead man holding his daughter, he picked her up in loving arms and disappeared. Alex scowled and turned to the undead. "Myra! Use your psynergy!"

"If I do that we might be trapped!" She cried.

"Maybe…but Kain will know where we are, besides I can set out the fire. I seriously doubt that I can hold of all of these!" He swung his sword decapitating one of the undead. "There are to many! Kain can help, and he may come if you light a fire! He will sense the undead's distress if they really do hate fire!"

Myra nodded and raised her rapier, fire appeared in the air and fell to the deck, lighting the dry, moldy, wood. The undead hissed in pain as the fire burned them, but they kept coming.

Kain's head shot up as he heard screams of pain in his mind. He staggered slightly…he was hearing the screams of the undead souls bound to their bodies…someone was controlling them, and the sprits of the dead were trapped, unable to control their reanimated bodies, and unable to escape the pain and torment of existence… Fire…they were being burned by fire…Myra and Alex were in trouble, he knew that much. Kain picked up his pace running through the ship. All of the undead were in the hold with Alex and Myra, and they had found something…the living person perhaps? He would not know for cetainuntil he got there…

_~I'm coming, just hold on a while longer…~_ He thought to himself.

Alex and Myra fought desperately, but they were losing. Even psynergy was not having a powerful effect on the undead. Fire burned them, but they did not slow down. Ice froze them, and their limbs would break and shatter, but they crawled along, still intent on disposing of Alex and Myra. Alex flashed across the room in a mixture of warp and water psynergy, cleaving through the ranks of the undead. But whenever he struck one down a new one rose up in its place… Myra was learning how to use her new blade very well by this point. A mixture of psynergy and steel whipped through the air cutting at the undead, still her weapon was proving to be even less effective than Alex's. Beheading the zombie like undead was almost impossible with her light blade, and only an accurate stab through one of the eye sockets would fell the beasts. Thankfully her fire psynergy was having a better effect than Alex's own ice attacks. Still her power was fading much faster than Alex's…she would not be able to use her psynergy soon.

Myra dodged a blow from a sword bearing undead, only to land underneath the club of another. She was hit on the forehead and was knocked out instantly. Alex was doing well, but when he saw his companion fall he was distracted long enough to receive a debilitating blow to his sword arm.

"This is hopeless." He thought to himself. "We are dead if Kain does not arrive soon." Alex healed himself and continued the fight slowly making his way to Myra who was still unconscious on the floor. He was thankful to see that the remaining undead were focusing on him rather than her at the moment. If they had decided to attack her while she was unconscious he would not have made it over in time.

Suddenly the ship trembled, and wood began to splinter around Alex. He jumped over Myra shielding her from flying shards of wood as the ceiling of the hold began to collapse. Alex smiled, Kain must have come…it took him long enough. The deck burst open above thw two adepts and the remains of the ceiling were sucked out into the open air by a violent tornado of incredible power. The tornado swept around the inside of the ship, sucking up the undead and throwing them into the sky. Strangely enough the tornado passed Alex and Myra, and began picking up broken shards of wood and weapons instead. Then with lethal strength the tornado began to throw the objects into the air filling the sky with lethal projectiles that struck the undead before they hit the water. The dead were killed yet again, and this time they would not rise to serve their master ever again.

Kain appeared on the edge of the jagged hole above them, rain pored through the open hole making the deck slick with water and blood. Kain leapt down landing with his usual fluid grace on the slick surface. "I see that you found what I was looking for…how unfortunate." He glanced at Myra. "Is she alright?"

"Yes, one of the undead hit her with a club…she may have a concussion."

"Can you heal her?" Kain wondered aloud.

"I have plenty of energy, of course I can heal her." Alex mutterd.

"Do it and come with me, the one we are seeking is at the far end of the ship." Kain said pointing the front of the ship. "He did not attack me as I came…he wants to face you. The girl is with him. We need to get her soon, I can feel life slipping away from her."

"That man is her father."

Kain was silent for a moment. He sighed and drew his blade still dark with blood. "That man is dead, whether he wants to be or not. He cannot take care of his daughter anymore. The dead cannot raise the living…believe me I know. It was done before where I come from. Those that…" He paused. "Those that were raised by the undead either died or went insane."

Alex was silent, he nodded grimly and used Ply on Myra healing her concussion." Kain sat down on a barrel, sword still ready to strike down any foe. "I will stay with Myra, he made it clear that he wants to fight you alone." Alex nodded and turned away. But Kain spoke again. "Alex…kill him again. There is no greater torment than not being able to die. If you do not kill him for good he will come back and he will never be at rest. If his daughter dies in his arms tonight he will be tormented for all eternity. Don't let that happen, his love for his daughter will cause him more pain than joy."

Alex nodded. "You are right…I'll bring her back, the sooner the better. Then we can get off this sorry excuse for a ship and do something important…"

"Alchemy…" Kain said, more of a statement than a question.

"Yes…"

Kain nodded his masked head in silent agreement and turned his eyes to Myra. "Go finish him…when Myra wakes up I want to be off this vessel and back on my own ship."

Alex nodded and walked away leaving Kain with Myra. Kain's jeweled eyes examined the ship for a moment before turning to her. Silently he pulled a dagger from his vest, placing it in her empty belt. "You lost this, considering that it belonged to your father I thought you might want to have it back. Just to let you know the undead I pulled it from did not appreciate it at all." Kain smiled grimly behind his mask. "No he did not like it…if he were living I doubt he would have liked either of us very much…" Kain paused. "Why am I talking to you? Hehehe…you can't even hear what I am saying yet I address you…how…odd…I must be losing my mind." He smiled openly beneath his mask. "Yes I must be going quite mad about now…why would I be talking to you if I was not, eh?" He laughed quietly to himself and stood up glancing about. "I hear…something…" He said quietly, before slipping into the darkness, leaving Myra unconscious, and alone.

Alex approached Evan silently, the man was holding his daughter in his arms. He had dropped his staff and was touching her cheek with his pale hand. He glanced up at Alex a worried look on his face. "She's so thin…I know that I should give her to you, but…" A tear slid down his cheek. "She is all I have…"

Alex nodded. "Once when I was a child I had a pet…it was a small puppy I found in the snowfields of Imil. I took her in and cared for her…I loved her dearly, but I became older and I found out that I had psynergy… I started to practice with it and she began to avoid me…then she would not let me touch her at all, I could not feed her or take care of her in any way…even when she became sick I could not help her. She died…I swear when I held her in my arms and cried that her lifeless body shivered…maybe it was my imagination…but it felt real. You love your daughter dearly, you want to care for her and help her. But you are no longer alive, not like she is. If she stays with you she will die; because, every time she looks into your eyes she does not see her father…her father died and you cannot be him, all your are is a lifeless copy."

Evan nodded silently wiping the tears from his cheeks "I want you to take her…please."

"I will do that." Alex said quietly. He stepped forward to take the girl, but Evan drew back slightly.

"I cannot do it though…I can still be her father! She knows who I am!" He hissed.

"That does not matter though…you are dead."

Evans eyes grew dark with anger. "I will not give her up without a fight! I cannot! As her father I am obligated to protect her…fight me for her. Kill me, and you may have her."

Alex nodded and drew his sword. "I will fight for her Evan, we both know what's best for her. Even if you refuse to believe it."

Evans eyes filled with hatred and he put the girl downon the deck. Then he launched himself forward the staff sliced through the air hitting Alex's sword with a mighty clash. Alex almost dropped his blade, the strike was inhumanly powerful, Evan did not even flinch. Alex scowled and warped behind Evan, he managed to slice the necromancers back open, but Evan did not falter. He spun about and his staff launched one of the powerful violet energy balls the Alex had seen in the hold. Alex remembered what the blast had done to the undead andheld his sword in both hands in front of the psynergy ball. The attack hit home and was reflected off the blades mirrored surface. It hit the deck below Evans feet and continued into the ship.

Evan scowled "Now our battle is timed as well! If you had taken the blast this ship would have stayed afloat a while longer! Now she will sink!"

Alex shrugged. "Then either way you will die, and your daughter as well if I do not win!" Alex charged forward his blade making dizzying arcs through the air. Evan countered each one perfectly, his body moving with unnatural speed and grace. No matter where Alex struck the staff seemed to be in the way, preventing him from making the final blow. Evan smiled he was not even breaking a sweat and his back injury seemed to aid him ore than he had originally expected.

Alex scowled and began to call upon the ocean to aid him. In mere seconds two great geysers of water leapt out of the ocean, towering above the two fighters. Evans smile went from weird to insane "Oh? You want to play with psynergy now, eh? Allow me to show you the true powers of the underworld!" Evan raised his staff and brought it down upon the deck with a mighty crash. Alex watched in amazement as the dark swirling clouds above split open revealing a huge symbol that spiraled down towards the ship. It landed weightlessly upon the deck merely floating a few inchs above the moldy wood. Evan smiled as Alex looked on, dumbfounded. He began to tap his staff on the deck, at first it was quite, but then they grew stronger until each tap rocked the whole ship with powerful tremors. Suddenly the symbol began to glow and a portal appeared in the air above it. Alex watched as two strange beings appeared from the void. Each one was a demonic looking beast carrying a huge sword engraved with ancient runes. Atop their heads were two horns resembling those of a ram, their bodies were huge, rippling with muscle, and their feet and hands were adorned with huge claws.

Evan smiled at Alex. "Have you ever heard of Daemons? They are demons of the nether world. Each of these beasts has taken more lives than any human being in existence. These beasts are at my command, and do as I wish! And they will be your downfall. Prepare to face your fate, for when these two finish with you…well…lets us say that they will never have enough of you to bury."

Alex scowled he was becoming outmatched, if these Daemons were anything like the undead he had faced before he did not have a chance…Alex held his blade loosely at his side. He still had the geysers at his disposal…with a wave of his hand they fell and launched at the Daemons, hitting them with enough force to destroy a small ship. One of them was washed overboard by the powerful assault, the other having a better grip remained on the ship unfazed by the attack.

"Well that makes things slightly easier…" Alex said as the Daemon marched towards him.

Evan smiled and held his daughter in his arms again… "Wont you open your eyes and see what daddy's friend is going to do to the bad man? No? Well it will make a wonderful bed time story!" He smiled. "You'll love this story my darling daughter…you will love it, and you will love me…more than ever before."

Kain was walking down the side of the derelict vessel when he heard heavy footsteps behind him. Turning around he spotted a very large human like figure. He held up his hand and a small flame appeared in it. The light revealed the monstrous Daemon. Kain blinked behind his mask. "And I thought there would be no challenge here at all…" The Daemon growled and opened its mouth slightly, revealing curved fangs.

"Damn you are one ugly bastard…" Kain mutterd. The Daemon roared in anger as if enraged by his remark. Kain smiled "At least I didn't insult your mother…" The Daemon roared again and charged forward its clawed hands outstretched. Kain's reaction was instantaneous, he leapt back pulling both sword and spear from their places. With a snap the spear was stretched to a length of six feet, and his sword was outstretched ready to parry any attack the monstrous being made.

"Go ahead beast…you are no worse than some of the things I have killed before. I doubt you will last five minutes." Kain snarled. The Daemon roared and charged enraged by the man before it only to stop as Kain's spear burst forward extending to its full length, and impaling the Daemon. It kept coming however, unfazed by the foot long blade in its chest. Kain held the other end of the spear managing to keep himself as far away from the beast as possible while slashing its face and chest with his sword. To his surprise the beast did not bleed at all, instead liquid fire leaked from its wounds and dripped onto the floor. Kain's blade was also covered in this liquid flame and before he knew what had happens his spear and sword were consumed by fire. Kain stepped back letting go of both weapons, if he tried to hold on he might be set alight as well…Myra just fixed his cloak it would be a shame for her to need to repair it again. Kain smiled and leapt forward as he did so his hands slipped into his vest, in seconds he was all over the beast, twin blades flashing in the pale light emitted by the Daemons own blood. The Daemon howled in anger and tried to grab Kain, but he was far to fast, slipping in and out of reach before the Daemon could react. Kain made one final jump and landed on the beasts shoulders, his blades at its neck. With a deft slash he decapitated the beast and its head fell to the deck with a heavy thump. Kain dropped his burning blades allowing them to burn out in the cool evening air. He flipped the head with the tip of his boot so he was looking into the beasts shocked face. "You know…for such a heavy headed guy you really don't have much for brains do you?" The Daemon did not answer and Kain picked up the head dropping it over the side. It sank like a stone into the deep water glowing faintly as it sank beneath the waves. Kain shrugged as he knelt down and picked up his weapons putting them in their respective spots. He pulled a small flask from his satchel and scooped up some of the fiery blood, filling the flask with the atrocious stuff. "I will admit I was wrong though." He said quietly. "You lasted eight minutes…bravo."

Alex blasted the Daemon away with another powerful geyser before charging it again. He managed to cut off its left arm, but the beast retaliated with its own weapon. Alex stopped the blade, but the tremendous force of the blow brought him to his knees. Wiping blood from his cheek he leapt up, his blade slashing the Daemons stomach open. To his surprise there was nothing…a normal being would have died, its organs would have spilled onto the deck, but this daemon was all muscles and sinew…the damn thing probably didn't even have organs…if it did Alex had yet to cut deep enough to do any serious damage…either that or the Daemon did not need them to function properly. Where a man would have died long ago this Daemon kept fighting, unfazed by loss of blood or wounds. Alex was lucky the burning blood had no effect on his weapon, he was able to hold it without worrying about it setting on fire. The blade neutralized the blood before it could do any damage. _~This sword is a life saver…~_ He thought to himself. With one deft attack after another he kept on fighting, his blade making patterns in the air, some so fast that they remained unseen. With a roar the demon leapt forward sword coming down in a powerful arc. Alex dodged the blow and warped beside the Daemon his blade slashed once, twice, three times into the Daemons neck. Finally on the forth blow the crudely severed head fell to the deck along with the mindless body.

"Well I never thought that you could defeat them…" Evan said quietly. "I suppose you do deserve an actual fight with me rather than my minions…and for that…well…lets us say that it will be slightly more interesting!" Evan laid his daughter on the deck and raised his staff to the sky and there was an unearthly flash. Evan grinned a wild glint in his eyes. "If only you had known the true power of the dark arts Alex! They go beyond Alchemy, one is the basis for life, and the other controls it! Care to guess which one I weild?" Evan grinned insanely, his eyes filled with madness.

"Alex!" Kain's voice rang out above Evans, getting both of their attention. Kain leaped down onto the deck between them. All of his weapons were put away in their usually places. He simply stood between the two combatants arms at his sides. "Alex…the ship is going under fast! We need to leave, now!"

"No one here will leave!" Evan said, launching an orb at Kain, who leapt out of the way. Evan grimaced "You pest! Die with everyone else!"

Kain raised a hand allowing a tornado to form around it. With a wave of his hand the tornado sped towards Evan and knocked him to the deck. "Alex we must go! Lets take him together and be done with it!"

"It sounds like a wonderful idea." Alex said sarcastically before leaping into the air and landing atop Evan. Alex's blade sank into Evans flesh pinning him to the deck. Evan snarled and tore the weapon away before getting up again. Kain drew his sword and spread his legs slightly using Alex's distraction to his advantage. He brought the tip of his blade up to one of his outstretched hands so that his gloved fingertips were touching its keen edge. Silently he charged forward and spun about, bringing the blade around with enough force to cleave through most Evans waist. Evan fell to the deck, helpless.

Kain watched for a moment before turning to pick up the girl. He did so and Evan called out. "Don't take her! Please!"

Kain shook his head and brought her over to him. "Sir…I do not know your name, but you cannot care for her any longer. It is best that she come with us…say good bye so that we may be on our way."

Evan nodded blinking back tears he quietly kissed his daughters forehead. Looking up at Kain and Alex he hid his eyes in shame and defeat. "Her name…I cannot remember it…I cannot say good bye."

Kain stood up the girl cradled in his arms. "I cannot help you sir…she is your daughter…she will always remember you just as you remembered her." Kain paused as he felt water leak into his boot. "We must go sir, Alex take the girl to the ship. I will…take care of Evan…"

Alex nodded and took the girl in his arms, he warped away leaving Alex and Kain alone on the deck. Evan spoke first. "What is it that you will do with me?"

Kain drew his sword from its sheath. "You are dead sir, you were resurrected when you should have been left in the grave. I plan to give you the rest that you deserved the day you died." Kain's voice was cold and emotionless.

Evan sighed and closed his eyes. "Do it and be done with it then." Kain nodded even though Evan could not see him, the black blade slashed through the air, ending Evans life for the second time. "Rest in peace Evan, for I know you did not live in it." With that Kain stepped away and began walking across the deck to his own ship. Myra was still on board this ship, he needed to get her off…now.

Alex was putting the girl onto a cot when Kain arrived carrying Myra. She was still unconscious from her ordeal, but her breathing was steady. Hopefully she would not have any more than a small bruise by morning. Kain put Myra on one of the beds and sighed as he looked at both Myra and the young girl. "We cannot leave either of them in those wet clothes. I may be able to wake Myra, but I cannot wake the girl. To do so would be dangerous for I can sense her turmoil. Change her while I wake Myra, put her in a warm bed near a fire and see if she would benefit from any of your healing abilities."

Alex nodded and stripped the girl down drying her off quickly and efficiently with a large towel. In a matter of minutes he had her in some warm cloths and a bed. He piled extra blankets onto the bed and began to examine the girl. "She is dehydrated, half starved, and who knows what else. I can give her water, but that's about it."

Kain nodded and focused on Myra, in seconds he had used his powers to connect to her mind. He searched her mind until he found what he was looking for, something frightening. The most frightening things she had experienced, he found those memories and began to amplify them, turning them into nightmares. Myra began to sweat her hands clenched and she began to whimper quietly. Alex noticed this and came over to the bed, wondering what was wrong.

"It's all right, she will be awake soon…close the door to the girls room, Myra will wake up screaming." Kain said.

Alex rushed to the door and closed it just as Myra's eyes burst open. As Kain had predicted she began to scream uproarisly until Kain gave her a halfhearted smack on the cheek, breaking her out of her nightmare. Myra's hand drifted to her cheek feeling the slight bruise where Kain had hit her, she frowned. "Thanks for waking me up…"

Kain nodded "It was not a problem." The ship shudder a bit and Kain jumped up cursing as the ship began to tilt wildly.

"What's going on!?" Myra shouted, above the clatter of falling dishes in the galley.

"We are still tied to the other ship! She is sinking, and we are going with her!" Kain shouted. He made his way to the door and was outside before the others. He rushed to one cable after another freeing them of their holds, he reached the final one and began to cut through it with his knife, so intent on saving the ship that he failed to notice the coil of rope that snaked around his boot. With a final slash the rope was freed, it snapped taught around Kain's ankle locking his leg to the sinking vessel. He gave a short cry of surprise and disbelif as the rope snapped him over the side, his sword fell from its scabbard and landed on the deck with a dull clang as he was dragged over the side of the ship, and into the sea. He did not have a chance to cry for help. In seconds the weight of the sinking vessel had dragged him under the waves, and into the depths of the cold northern sea.

Myra screamed as she saw Kain fall over the side of the ship. She ran to the rail hoping to catch sight of him, but all that remained on the waters surface were a small series of bubbles, and waves. Alex appeared next to her, he said something but she could not understand what it was. He grabbed her and spun her around speaking urgently, but still she could not hear him, her senses were dead…

Alex looked into the water again futilely. Myra was in shock, Kain was nowhere to be seen…she screamed, he had no idea what was going on. He stepped back and his foot struck something sharp, it cut into his boot grazing his ankle. He spun to find Kain's black Katana sword, still stained with blood, lying on the deck. It was then that he understood…Kain had gone overboard…and judging from the cold waters and rough seas, he was already dead. He turned back to Myra, tears stained her light blue cheeks…Alex did nothing. He glanced into the waves a final time, and turned away from the rail. Bending down he retrieved Kain's sword and walked across the deck to the steps. His heavy footsteps making loud thumps as they hit the wooden planks.

Kain was dead, they were short one member, the only one that knew everything about this ship. He was gone, and now Alex and Myra were on their own in the middle of nowhere with a sick, nameless child. Alex threw the sword into the study and glared at it, as though it was the one that had caused all the trouble.

"Well…this was unfortunate to say the least…" Alex sighed. "Once again I am behind schedule…"

Kain: _ YOU BASTARD! YOU KILLED ME!

Sol: It was only to advance the plot…

Kain: _ I DON'T FRIGGIN CARE! DIE!

Sol: O.O Yah! (Dodges Kain's sword.) Be good or I'll fire you!

Kain: _ One day I am gonna hurt you so badly…

Sol: -_-; Whatever calm down…jeez… ^_^ Hi everyone! This is the longest chapter yet! Yay! Over eight thousand words! ^_^ As for me right now I am in Boston and to be quite frank about it I hate Boston, I hate Massachusetts, and I hate just about everything else right now. I'm sorry if this chapter was a little gory and weird but the first version of this absolutely sucked! So I redid the whole thing just for you guys! ^_^ Reviews and such are appreciated and I'll update when I can cause I'm busy with school, work, and College preparations, so be patient it might be awhile until the next update. Also there is a Kain pic available to those that want it. Leave me your email address and I'll send it to ya when I have the time.

Kain: Can I hurt you now!?

Sol: (Closes eyes.) Yup…

Kain: RAWRG!

Sol: ARGH! x_x

Alex: O.O Holy…uhh…the rest of this scene is censored due to extreme violence…if though this chapter was bad you really ought to see what Kain's is doing to Sol…Holy shi…

Kain: ^_^ Bet you didn't know you could do that to a person while they are alive, eh?

Alex: Well…its not everyday you see someone stuffed into a shoebox I'll admit that…

Sol: MURPH!

Kain: SHUT UP!


	6. Holy Knight

_First off I'd like to thank those who reviewed and answer any questions they may have asked… so here we go!_

Deepcoiler…I never knew he was so popular with some people. ^^ If it is any consolation I'm working on a fic about Kain, as for if he will return in the Final Trial…I'm not sure…he was kind of attached to the ship by a thick rope so…

Icy Cake…I'm fine! ^o^ *Blushes* Yeah I am so good now… ^^ And yeah it was weird but I thought it was good in some ways…the Golden Sun world needed a bit more angst methinks…it was too PG for me.

Enigma… *stuffs Enigma in a shoebox* THAT'S WHAT IT FEELS LIKE!

LuSheeta…Not everyone knows! ^^ Anyway Here it is! MORE! …Took five months though… *sigh* No fighting this chapter either…there is some humor though…

Slightly Insane…Okay! Okay! Okay! Okay! Okay! Okay! Okay! Okay! Okay! Okay! Okay! Okay! Okay! Okay! Okay! Okay! Okay! Okay! Okay! Okay! Okay! Okay! Okay! Okay! Okay! Okay! Okay! Okay! Okay! Okay! Okay! Okay!

jollybee02…She still a mystery in this chapter, she's going to remain that way for a while longer to...though she does wake up thanks to the help of a new character! ^^ Enjoy the update everyone!

Golden Sun is the property of Camelot and Nintendo.

Alex glared at the black sword lying upon his desk. The blade was beautiful, yet ugly at the same time. Smoke colored metal reflected the light from the candle in his gloved hand. Casting warped shadows on the wall. Alex sighed and picked up the blade, immediately a chill flared throughout his body, he felt depressed, hopeless, afraid…the blade was so heavy, heavy with the blood it had spilled. Alex dropped the blade back onto the desk watching the end of its blade bite into the wood. He stood up from his chair, blowing out the candle and closing the door behind him, leaving the blade of his former ally in its silent tomb.

Myra sat next to the young girl, head hung in silent morning. Days ago she had asked to board the ship the girl had been on. Almost willingly, Kain her former companion had boarded the ship with them to save her…and he had paid with his life. Myra wept silently. "I…I killed him…" She sobbed. "I was the one that made him board, if I hadn't been unconscious he would have lived."

"Oh stop your crying Myra." Alex walked into the room immediately taking his usual place beside the young girl, wordlessly he cast Ply upon her, after few moments he sighed in defeat, she still wouldn't wake from her sleep, he had done this every day but her health still declined, to be honest he was surprised she was still alive.

"I hope she makes it…" Myra said with a heavy sigh.

Alex frowned placing his hand on the edge of the bed. "I honestly don't care what happens to her, as far as I'm concerned she's just extra baggage, a nuisance that I intend to be rid of as soon as we reach the nearest port…"

"Don't say that Alex, it's a lie. If you really didn't care you wouldn't spend all of your psynergy on trying to heal her." Alex glared at her momentarily before returning his gaze to the girl. "I suppose you are right…I'm going up on deck, we're near a small island, hopefully I can find a port or beach near here…" He turned away walking out into the hall. "Keep an eye on the girl and get some sleep, we'll be ashore by morning I promise you that." Without another word he closed the door behind him. Myra sighed and lay down on her bed, to dream of dry land and salvation for the girl in her charge.

Alex sighed, leaning heavily upon the wheel as he looks out into the ocean, misty land ahead of the ship. "Well…a new site at least…or no…an old one." He mumbles, pulling a map from his tunic and spreading it across the wheel. "Well…a nameless Island in the north sea…a few houses and nothing else." He thinks to himself. "However…maybe we can stock up on supplies…and get some medicine for that girl…or even better…leave her here with someone." Alex smiles, folding the map and shoving it into his tunic. "I think…this is the best course of action for now…" He says softly, turning the wheel and ship towards the snow covered island. With each passing moment it grows larger and larger, filling his view. Less then half an hour later he works the large craft into a small harbor, beaching it as gently as possible. Alex smiles at his handiwork and turns his head slightly as Myra runs up the steps appearing on the deck, the girl in her arms.

"We have reached land?" She says, seemingly puzzled.

"Yes actually, there's a town here. We can leave the girl here and continue on to Vale."

Myra frowns. "LEAVE HER HERE!? IN THIS DUMP!?" She shouts pointing a shaking hand at snow capped ground.

"Well, of course!" Alex scoffs. "You think I want to drag her along all the way to Vale?"

Myra frowns, putting the girl down on the deck and walking up to Alex, poking his chest with a finger. "You know what? I thought you might actually have some sort of feeling for this girl considering the man that saved your life died for her, as well as you and me, aside from that you've been healing her everyday!" She sighs and turns away, closing her eyes. " But I guess I was wrong…"

Alex smiles. "Yes, very wrong indeed."

"YOUR NOT SUPPOSED TO BACK ME UP IDIOT!" She screams, punching Alex solidly in the chest, causing him to fall of the side of the boat with a yelp of surprise. Myra glares down at him. "Serves you right meanie!" She says sticking out her tongue indignantly.

Alex sits up, completely covered with snow, glaring he waves a hand and Myra disappears momentarily, reappearing in the air next to the ship she falls with a scream to the ground below, landing in the snow bank next to Alex with a scream and a loud thump. Alex smiles softly. "And to think I could have put you in the middle of the ocean instead…should have thought of doing that sooner…" With another wave of his hand the girl appears in his arms, wrapped in warm blankets. "Come on Myra…we're going into town to find help for this little one." He says, stepping across the hard snow with quick steps. Myra moans and drags herself out of the snow bank, stumbling after him.

"That's no way to treat a lady." She mumbles.

Alex smiles. "Well…I don't consider you a lady." He says with a laugh. "More like…an…annoyance."

"WHAT!?"

"The good kind of annoyance though…"

"Narrow minded man…" Myra growls under her breath. Alex smiles and resumes to walk towards the town, his steps unhindered by the girls weight. Meanwhile atop a snow capped hill a man watches, tugging his dark and dirty cloak tighter around his body to block the wind.

"Well…a way off this worthless rock…" He says to himself, standing and turning away he smiles. "It'll be nice to leave this worthless place." With a shrug he steps over the edge of the hill and begins the long walk to town…

Alex and Myra enter the town less then half an hour later, both tired and weary from the hard trek. Though they encountered few monsters on their journey, the trail was unbroken and difficult to travel, aside from that the foolish girl he was carrying was not making things easier by any means. He frowns sullenly as he makes his way into the Inn, almost empty excluding the Innkeeper, his wife, the bartender and a blond haired man drinking in the corner, other then that the place was empty. Alex shrugs, walking to the counter he leans on it, still holding the girl in his arms. "You, wouldn't happen to have a doctor in town would you?" He asks the Innkeeper. A large and burly man with a mustache, each arm seemingly as wide as Alex's legs. If it were not for Alex's psynergy he did not doubt that the man could defeat him easily in a brawl…however he wouldn't dare be stupid enough to start a fight in the first place, with or without his psynergy

The Innkeeper brushes his mustache with a large, rough hand. "Well, no. We lack a doctor…however…that man over their in the corner is a healer of sorts. I'm sure he can take care of this girl for a price. Aside from that were you planning on spending the night good sir?"

"Yes I think we will stay the night, could you lead this girl to her room and put the other in a bed of her own for me while I talk to this supposed healer?"

"Of course sir" The Innkeeper says.

"Thank you." Alex smiles, dropping the girl onto the counter with a soft thump and spinning on his heel he approaches the man at the counter, stopping at his side. The man is young, no more then twenty five, with blond hair and blue eyes. He's wrapped in a dark cloak, under it silver armor, well polished is shimmering in the low light, with a wave of his hand Alex sits down in the seat in front of the man. "I heard you're a healer sir."

"The man smiles wolfishly. " I am, but it'll cost ya ta heal that girl sir."

"Oh I'm willing to pay the price if I find it acceptable."

The man leans back in his chair, taking a sip of his drink. "Fine, it'll cost a ride on your ship. I've been on this rock for ages and you and your lass are the first I've seen with a ship in these parts, excluding those with the weird flying vessel that passed here a few months back."

_"Felix and Issac…"_ Alex says to himself. "Fine it's a deal but you'll need to help crew the ship as well as heal the girl."

"That's fine with me, may I have the name of my employer though?"

"Alex."

"My name is Cevin." The man says, holding out a gloved hand. Alex grabs it and they shake hands momentarily. "Your girl, the sickness she has will be easy to cure, in fact I'll do it right now if you wish it."

"Yes…I suppose that would be the best choice of action…if I don't have you heal her immediately and Myra finds out she'll have a fit."

"Myra…the girl that entered with you?"

"Yes." Alex says.

"Fine then." Cevin says, standing up and stretching with a loud groan. "Take me to the girl then we'll be on her way when the morning sun strikes the fresh snow of this island." Alex nods and gets up from his chair, walking up the steps to the room. He opens the door and they step inside to find Myra sleeping at the girls side, wordlessly Cevin kneels next to the girl's bed, putting his hand on her."

"By the power invested in me by my forefathers be well again." He says softly as a golden light emits from his gloved hands into the girls body. Alex smiles. _"Psynergy? Perhaps he is a Venus adept?"_ he thinks to himself. With a gasp her eyes open and she sits up, looking at Cevin with wide frightened eyes. He smiles gently. "It's alright, there's nothing to be afraid of." He says, removing his hands. "What is your name?"

"S Shiva…sir." The girl says shakily, her small hands behind her back.

"Alright then Shiva…I'm your friend from now on okay?" Cevin says, smiling.

"Okay."

Alex watches Cevin thoughtfully. _"His smile…is special…somehow it is different…you can trust that smile, he's not hiding anything from her. He's telling the truth…that solves the problem of the girl then, he can be her care taker for now on."_ He steps forward. "Cevin, would you like to take care of this girl? She will be coming with us you know."

I'd be happy to care for her." He says, ruffling her hair with a heavy hand, making her squeal in childish delight.

Alex rolls his eyes. "Fine then, Shiva, my name is Alex, you'll be coming with us."

"What about father?" Shiva asks softly, wide eyes staring into Alex's, he glances at Cevin who nods his head gravely.

"It would be best to say whatever you have to say about her father, obviously he did not come with you…lying will only make things worse in the future."

Alex glares at Cevin, but nods in agreement before returning his gaze to Shiva. "Shiva…. your father was killed…he…he was sick…we were unable to save him. But we managed to get you here before the sickness took you as well."

"Oh…Daddy…I knew he was sick…so was Captain Nasiev and the others…they were all sick." Shiva says, tears filling her wide eyes and running down her cheeks. The girl cries softly into her pillow, Cevin looks at Alex and shrugs, Alex just glares at the little girl before speaking again.

"Do you know why they were sick Shiva?" Alex says quietly, his eyes cold and distant.

"No…daddy said someone was angry and he did it, but he didn't say who." Shiva says, hugging her knees to her small chest.

Cevin smiles and raises a hand for Alex to stop. "Okay, Shiva, you go to bed okay? In the morning we're gonna leave and go someplace nice on the boat." He says happily.

The corners of her small mouth lift as Shiva smiles softly. "Okay…you…wont get sick will you?" She asks.

Cevin smiles and ruffles the girl's hair again. "No, I promise I wont get sick."

"Okay…goodnight…Cevin." She says, hugging the man before wrapping herself in the covers of her bed and drifting off into a deep sleep. Cevin stands up a huge smile on his handsome face, Alex snorts softly.

"That was far to dramatic, practically disgusting." He says in a drab monotone voice. Cevin laughs, standing up and step over next to him.

"Well…maybe for you. However, where I come from charity is something we offer willingly, and it usually ends up being dramatic in a way. But it is better for it to be dramatic rather then tragic…wouldn't you agree Alex?"

"I don't think you would like my answer to that question Cevin." Alex says, picking up the sleeping Myra. "We are not alike in anyway, you care for the people and I do not, it is that simple. I would have preferred to leave that child where she was, if it was not for this girl it would have been like that. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to put her in bed, then we can talk awhile longer." He puts Myra down onto her bed, throwing the covers over her. "We can talk downstairs." He mumbles, walking down the steps quietly. Cevin shrugs and follows him without question.

Downstairs Alex sits at the table Cevin had previously occupied, long since cleaned by the Innkeepers wife the tables finish was so clean that Alex could make out his reflection in the table. Cevin sits down in his old chair, signaling to the bartender for a drink. "Did ya want something Alex? Food or drink I mean?" He asks.

"No, I'm fine for now." Alex says bluntly, staring into the table intently.

Cevin shrugs. "Suit yourself." He says, turning to the bartender. "The cheapest alcohol you have sir." He says. The bartender nods and turns to his counter, handing Cevin a wooden mug of thick, brown beer. Cevin stares into the cup momentarily. "I said drink…this looks more like a pudding…ah heck with it." He says, taking a large gulp of the beer, he swallows it, practically gagging on the foul stuff. "Gah what a horrible drink, I've tasted ditch water that was better."

Alex smiles. "Well, you got what you paid for Cevin, now tell me where you come from."

Cevin takes another sip of his beer, swishing it around in his mouth before swallowing. "I'm from Gondowan, I was sent to find a girl named Sheba. Apparently she was here a while ago but has long since left with some warriors." He says, taking another large gulp from his mug and once again gagging on the beer. "Most cheep beer is watered down but this is ridiculous." he mutters. "It's like drinking oatmeal. Anyway, I'm a Paladin.

Alex frowns, running a gloved hand over the table's smooth surface. "I regret to say I have never heard of a Paladin."

Cevin smiles. "Paladins are the holy knights of Gondowan, we acts as healers and mediators, we also protect the innocent from harm and such for little or no pay." He says, taking another large gulp of his beer, emptying the mug. Frowning he turns the mug over, watching as the remaining beer oozes out onto the table, he blinks and laughs. "That's about it I'd say, what about yourself Alex?"

"I'm just a simple traveler that wants to get back to Angara, I have some old friends to visit there."

Cevin smiles. "I'd say it sound like you're after revenge not friends."

"I have no idea what you mean Cevin." Alex says, smiling. "Revenge is a petty act, I have no need for it."

"Of course…well…I'm off to get some rest Alex, unless you plan on leaving tonight." Cevin says, leaning back in his chair.

"No we leave tomorrow, until then Cevin." Alex says, standing up and walking to the stairs, disappearing into the dark hallway. Cevin shrugs, standing up and dropping some coin in the bartender's hand. "That so called beer wasn't worth this much ya know, I almost choked on the stuff." He mumbles angrily. The bartender shrugs and begins to clean Cevin's mug, with a loud sigh Cevin walks upstairs.

"At least I'll be off this rock at dawn." He thinks to himself as he removes his armor. "That'll be nice, then I can search for lady Sheba and return to Gondowan." He smiles and lies down on his bed, drifting off into a deep sleep. Meanwhile Alex lays on his bed, a small ball of glowing blue energy in his hand, he looks at it with half lidded eyes. "Why must I pick up these fools? Kain, Myra, Cevin, this girl Shiva…all extra baggage…they slow me down, but I cannot sail the ship alone…when we reach Angara I'll make sure to put an end to this foolish party…when the time comes…"

Sol: **Yawn** Hi everyone!

Everyone: o DIE!

Sol: OoO AUGH! WAIT I UPDATED! DON'T HURT ME! **Begs**

Kain: It's been over five months ya know…you updated this when you were in Boston!

Sol: I know, I know…school and work take almost twelve hours a day. **Yawns** Anyway, I'll update irregularly for now on, this chapter has no violence…sadly…next one should though. In addition, I think I'm gonna cut the average length of each chapter to 3,000 words at the most.

Cevin: T.T I didn't get to do anything.

Kain: Shut up, if you were half as important as me you would be dead by now!

Cevin: T.T Meanie…

Kain: ^^

Sol: Till the next update! Hope ya enjoyed this a lil at the least! Bye, I'm off ta work!


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